Heather O'Rourke
Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988)3 was an American child actress. She was discovered by director Steven Spielberg when she was visiting MGM's studios.4 Spielberg cast her as Carol Anne Freeling in the horror film Poltergeist (1982), where she is known for saying "They're here!" She reprised the role in the second and third installments. O'Rourke also had a recurring role on Happy Days from 1982 to 1983, and she made several television guest appearances. In February 1988 she died at the age of 12 of cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis. Early life Heather O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975, in San Diego, California, to Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke. Her mother worked as a seamstress and her father was a carpenter. She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, also an actress. Her parents divorced in 1981, and O'Rourke's mother married part-truck driver Jim Peele in 1984, while they were living in a trailer park in Anaheim, California.56 Her success later allowed the family to purchase a home in Big Bear Lake, California.6 Between acting jobs, O'Rourke attended Big Bear Elementary School where she was president of her 5th grade class.7 At the time of her death, the family was living in Lakeside, California, a suburb of San Diego.8 Illness and death O'Rourke became ill with giardiasis in early 1987 and was later diagnosed as having Crohn's disease. She was prescribed a steroid to treat the disease during the time she was filming Poltergeist III.18 On January 31, 1988, O'Rourke suddenly became ill again, vomiting and unable to keep anything in her stomach. The next morning, she collapsed while preparing to leave for the hospital and her stepfather called paramedics. O'Rourke suffered cardiac arrest en route to the hospital, and after resuscitation, she was airlifted by helicopter to Rady Children's Hospital(formerly Children's Hospital and Health Center) in San Diego,10 where she died later that day. Speaking to reporters, O'Rourke's manager David Wardlow initially announced that it was believed she died of influenza.1920 However, hospital spokesman Vincent Bond announced that O'Rourke died during surgery to repair an acute bowel obstruction (caused by congenital stenosis of the intestine)21 complicated by septic shock;422 this report was corroborated by the San Diego County coroner's office on February 3, two days after her death.23 Later her official death certificate report stated that her cause of death was due to a cardiac arrest caused by a septic shock brought on by the intestinal stenosis and that an autopsy was not performed.1 O'Rourke was entombed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on February 5, 1988.1 Aftermath O'Rourke's death complicated Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's marketing for her last work, Poltergeist III, out of fear of appearing to be exploiting her death.28 Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen, O'Rourke's co-stars, were discouraged from giving interviews about the film to avoid questions about her death.29 O'Rourke died four months before the theatrical release of Poltergeist III, which was dedicated to her memory.30 On September 26, 2008, DirecTV began airing a national TV advertisement developed by Deutsch Inc.; directed by Erich Joiner and cinematographed by Daniel Mindel,31 the advert features O'Rourke's famous "They're here!" scene from Poltergeist blended with contemporary footage of her co-star, Craig T. Nelson, intended to mimic the film. After the advertisement drew criticism from bloggers and columnists for exploiting O'Rourke,32 DirecTV responded in a Q&A session with readers of The New York Times. Jon Gieselman, DirecTV's senior vice president for advertising and public relations, explained that O'Rourke's family "was involved in the spot from start to finish that Heather's mother not only approved, ... she also commented that Heather's inclusion was a wonderful tribute to her daughter."33 Category:Deceased People